White Hot Fab 5 - top tips for gorgeous white and grey hair

If you’re anything like us, you will probably have come across some lovely helpful people suggesting that embracing your natural colour means you’ve ‘let yourself go’. (unless you’re a silver fox of course, but that’s a whole other story).

In reality, while your colour is natural, by now you’ll have found that white and grey hair has its own particular quirks and can need some tlc for it to look its best and for you to feel great about it.

So, here are our White Hot top tips:

1. Texture taming

Has the texture of your hair changed? Hair without pigment can feel coarse and wiry and refuse to lie down. Or it feels a little thinner and prone to looking fluffy. A deep conditioning mask every now and again can help make coarse hair feel more manageable, or, if your hair has taken on that ‘cotton wool’ feeling, a styling product can help add texture and definition. For this, we’d recommend ourShooshing Crème- it gives oomph and texture in a flash, and is our Founder Jayne’s go-to product. For stray greys along your parting, why not smooth in a few tiny drops of Lifeshine Oil for a glossy finish.

2. Great cut

Is now the time for a complete change? You’ve bitten the bullet and embraced a new colour and now few things are more important than a great cut. Work with a stylist who doesn’t put you in an ‘older lady’ box and understands you and your hair, seeing it as a modern colour choice. From all the pictures our customers share, we love natural, un-done looks that are a million miles away from the ‘grey styles’ of old. Whatever anyone says, there are no rules on length, so long or short you might tweak with a few extra face-framing layers or go all out for a new look. No dye doesn’t mean game over!

3. Keep bright

For many reasons, you may find your hair takes on the dreaded yellow tones. Any blonde hair from your original colour - we all have a mix of black, red and blonde - is the last to lose its pigment, so it could just be a natural part of your transition. Or, it could be the fact that white and grey hair simply shows the dirt more than hair that still has its pigment. Strong sunshine, chlorine, smoke, pollution, whatever the culprit, the good news is you can help banish these yellow tones and brighten up your white simply by using a ‘purple’ shampoo. If you’ve ever wondered “why purple?” it’s because purple is opposite yellow on the colour wheel, so it naturally counteracts the yellow tones. Our Brilliant Shampoohas a gentle touch of violet pigment and gives your hair an occasional brightening boost. If you wash your hair every day, we’d recommend using it once or twice a week.

4. Hot watch

While we’re on the subject of yellow-y tones, let’s talk about heated stylers. Lots of us are wedded to our straighteners or tongs, but the bad news is that applying such powerful heat directly to white and grey hair can give your hair a dull, brassy hue. It may not be as quick or simple, but there are other ways to smooth, straighten or curl hair, without using heated stylers. Ask your hairdresser for a mini tutorial in creating or adapting your style, so that you can kick the habit of going straight for the straighteners. Blow drying your fringe in opposite directions straightens out the kinks and a handful of velcro rollers can be whipped into your hair for a few minutes while you’re in the shower or doing your make-up.

5. Suck it up

White and grey hair is more porous than hair with its pigment and sucks up cosmetic colours like a sponge. So if you’re over zealous with your bronzer or blusher brush, you might find you give your hairline or fringe a rosy pink hue along with your skin. Stick your hair into a soft head band when you’re doing your make-up and keep an eye on colour transfer from face to hair on especially hot days.

Of course, the main thing is to enjoy your new colour. It’s no doubt taken you a while to get to your natural white and grey, but now you’re here, it can really feel like a fresh new beginning on the style front. Your new colour palette might introduce you to colours that just didn’t work with your dyed hair and you might want to switch up your jewellery or glasses to compliment your new hair. There may be days when you might wish for your old colour back (for me it’s usually when I’m very tired and looking in the bathroom mirror first thing in the morning!) but that’s more than compensated for by the freedom of natural hair. You’re not planning your life around a dyeing schedule, you can enjoy feeling the wind in your hair without wondering if your roots are on show and you’ll no doubt start getting more compliments on your hair colour now than you ever did before. And last but not least, you’re in the exclusive club of vibrant, dynamic White Hot women who know there’s more to life than hair.

We love seeing all of your pictures - if you’d like to share yours, please either send it to [email protected] or post it on our Facebook page.

Hi Jo, thanks for your note. We can confirm that none of our products are tested on animals. They are made in Britain and are formulated to comply with the principles of Cruelty Free International with a fixed cut off date of 11/03/13. Hope this helps and that you enjoy the products if you give them a go.

Hi Betty, thanks for your note. Yes, White Hot is suitable for all white and grey hair - from salt and pepper to pure white. We would recommend our Glorious Shampoo for you, which is a creamy white formula and contains a detoxing complex to give great every day cleanse. If you sign up to our email newsletter you will get an email with a code that will give you 10% off your first order. Hope this helps.

Hi, I have used numerous purple shampoos but they either don’t work or leave purple patches in my white (obviously very porous) hair. I really want to try your purple shampoo but any advice on application as I still have purple patches from months ago!?

Hi Lorraine, thanks for your note. Our Brilliant Shampoo is a very soft violet formulation, so we would hope it would be OK for you. In addition,
we only recommend you use Brilliant occasionally when your hair needs a brightening boost - so for example, if you wash your hair every day we would say to use Brilliant only once or twice per week. If you were reluctant to try another purple shampoo, we also have a creamy white formulation, Glorious, which gives deep-down every day cleanse. If you choose either shampoo, as you have experienced problems in the past, we would advise you to do a patch test first - maybe on some hair underneath. If you were to buy directly from us and then found the shampoo wasn't for you, you can always come back to us - we have a generous customer services policy and would try and find a solution. Hope this helps for now.

We went on a 4 month cruise - and I just let the blonde grow out - with the sunshine I hardly noticed the difference. Phew! What a relief that I don't have to spend 3 hours every 4 weeks having it coloured. I do have a bit of a yellowy tinge at the front so will try the violet shampoo. Thanks.

Hi Susan, thanks for your note. There's lots of ways to go through the transition. The first bit of advice we would give you is to work with a stylist you trust. It's difficult to advise you from afar but if you are dyeing your hair blonde perhaps consider slightly fewer, or finer highlights that you can gradually reduce as you go through the transition. We keep hearing this phrase 'gronde' which is used to describe a mix of blonde and grey, so maybe this could be the route for you? Hope this helps.

I love my white/very grey hair colour but I do have problems with fine flat hair. I have tried your styling gel/cream and it does nothing my hair still falls flat within seconds of blow drying. I used to buy a products called touch of silver and it was a mousse which worked perfectly. This doesn’t seem to be available now. Do you do a styling mousse because that’s the only way I get umph in my hair. Or perhaps you could suggest something. Thank you

Hi Lois, thanks for your note. I am sorry Shooshing Creme doesn't work for you. Can I just check - are you using it before or after blow drying? Shoosh should be used on dry hair, after styling, to help add texture and definition, which in turn can help it appear more voluminous. Unfortunately we don't have a mousse at the moment, but it is on our list. In the meantime I hope you find something that works for you.